The
four-game series with the Sounds marks the first division match-up of
2009. The Sounds are tied for third in the division, .5 games back from
the ‘Birds in second.

Nashville is on a four-game win streak
and bring Mat Gamel, who ranks 3rd in the PCL in batting average
(.439), RBI (15) and OBP (.510), to AZP.

The ‘Birds posted a 10-6 record against Nashville last season. 4-4 at AZP.

Did
I mention that MLB all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman will be
pitching in his 12th career start tonight? His 1,023rd game as a pro.
He is expected to pitch in relief later in the series.

What Came of the OKC Road Trip (4/17-20)

Compared to the ‘Birds last meeting with the ‘Hawks, Memphis’ run average went from 2.33 to 3.25, but still the team struggled at the plate, averaging 6.5 hits per game. To be fair though, going into the series OKC had the best collective ERA of PCL teams with 2.83.

New Redbirds pitchers debuted. Brad Thompson got a W, while Josh Kinney struggled in his .2 innings. Maekawa shook off the woes of his first start with a scoreless four innings.

Shane Robinson’s eight-game hit streak was concluded on Monday night.

OF Brian Barton was traded to the Braves for reliever Blaine Boyer. Boyer went to STL, sending David Freese to Memphis.

Look for Memphis Redbirds on twitter! Instant updates, game scores and free stuff.

Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end and our Spring Training trip is no different. The Redbirds traveling party disbanded this morning with the important people (President/GM Dave Chase and President Bill Harter) leaving first thing this morning and the not quite as important people (Broadcaster Steve Selby and myself) sitting in the Palm Beach Airport right now waiting to fly back to Memphis. (Side note: the trip is already off to a great start as they just announced our flight is delayed by nearly an hour.)

The last day of the Spring Training trip is always a little bittersweet. First, you don’t want to leave the baseball behind and second, no one wants to leave the sun and the fun of southern Florida. But the end of the trip always comes with a silver lining, especially this year. Baseball at AutoZone Park is only one week away with the ‘Birds and Cards kicking off the 10th season of AZP next Friday at 7:05.

I will say one thing about this trip, it has made me more excited for the 2009 season than any other since I started working for the Redbirds in 2005. There are still a few roster spots to be determined but even with those spots still up in the air the ‘Birds Opening Day Roster is going to be packed with young talent. The pitching staff will arguably be one of the best in the Pacific Coast League with the majority of last season’s rotation and part of the bullpen returning. Memphis posted the best ERA in the league last season and will be a serious threat to do it again. With Mitchell Boggs, P.J. Walters, Clayton Mortensen, Jess Todd and Blake Hawksworth penciled in as the starting five it should help what could potentially be a really young bullpen. There are no big boppers for the offense this year with David Freese looking more and more like he’ll be in St. Louis with each passing day. So look for a little more running on the basepaths and a lot more small ball this year…at least to start the season.

Well, some potential faces appearing for the Redbirds during the 2009 season are beginning to show themselves as Opening Day draws closer. Following the Cardinals Spring Training game on March 8, St. Louis re-assigned 15 non-roster players to their minor league camp. The list of those players re-assigned include pitchers Hyang-nam Choi, Justin Fiske, Brad Furnish, Shaun Garceau, Trey Hearne, Tyler
Herron, Katsuhiko Maekawa, Ian Ostlund and Francisco Samuel; catchers Tony Cruz, Luis De La Cruz, Steven Hill and Justin Knoedler; infielders David Freese and Brett Wallace. Stay tuned as we get more news filtering out of Spring Training.

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